I was intrigued recently to learn that on October 11th, 1859, Charles Dickens gave a reading in St Andrew's Hall in Norwich from a Christmas Carol and acted out a trial scene from Pickwick Papers. He stayed the night at the Maids Head Hotel and the following day read the story of Little Dombey.
This must have been quite something and the next day the local paper had this to say:
“The reception of Mr Dickens, on his first appearance in front of a very artistically arranged screen, was cordial and enthusiastic. His voice was far from powerful, but he had remarkable expression and the powers of exhibiting this in face as well as in voice. As a pecuniary speculation, it must have been highly profitable to Mr Dickens.”
Mind you, according to the article Dickens was not a wholehearted supporter of our city. On a previous trip he had declared Norwich to be "a disappointment" apart from the place where executions took place!
On that occasion Dickens appeared at the Theatre Royal but said the audiences were the least responsive he had ever met. In 1861 Dickens again appeared at St Andrew's Hall when a reviewer got his/her own back by stating "Mr Dickens, as a reader, fails to do justice to himself as an author."
It does look as though Dickens' dislike of Norwich didn't prevent him taking money from the city for his appearances.
I can really recommend the Norfolk Tales, Myths and More Facebook page which can be accessed at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/norfolk.history.tales.myths